GoAP to award ORR contract via Swiss Challenge: CM

Hyderabad, Mar 17 (UNI) The Andhra Pradesh Government (GoAP) will go through the 'Swiss Challenge' over the next three weeks to award the 160-km eight-laned Outer Ring Road (ORR) contract, which will link the Hyderabad International Airport (HIAL) with the city, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy said.

A Swiss Challenge is a bidding process that allows other investors to offer a lower cost for the project than the original proponent.

Sixteen companies have been short listed for the first phase of the ORR. The state government had also issued the letter of intent for the ORR's second phase to the Chinese State Construction and Engineering, the Hong Kong-based EPC contractor involved in construction of the Passenger Terminal Building (PBT) at HIAL.

The government proposes to throw them to 'Swiss Challenge', Dr Reddy said yesterday at a news conference after reviewing the one-year progress of HIAL.

''Once the ORR is over the sky will be the limit of the growth of Hyderabad'', the Chief Minister said.

Though the GoAP was keen that the Hyderabad Urban Develolpment Authority (HUDA) should undertake the first phase of ORR, the Chief Minister said, it wanted the the company to be alloted the second phase through the Swiss Challenge.

''The idea is that the completion the ORR, latest by 2nd April 2008, should synchornise with the opening of the HIAL greenfield airport at Shamshabad, about 30 kms from here,'' he said.

The Rs 1760-crore HIAL project is being built under public-private partnership with GoAP holding 13 per cent stake. So far work has been done on 11.77 million cubic metres of land, of which 8.08 million cubic metres has been filled since October last year. About 15 per cent work on the PTB has been completed over the last five months and about 8 per cent on airside and landside works had been completed over the last three months at the HIAL project.

Terming the progress as ''quite remarkable'', Dr Reddy hoped that the new airport of HIAL will completed by November next year. The next three months will be for statutory tests and licences and the airport will be operational by March 2008.

The Chief Minister also laid the foundation for the 12-km Elevated Express Highway (EEH) which is to built over the next 18 months with contracts for Rs 600 crores to be awarded through Swiss Challenge.

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